Welcome to Word Wanders, our place dedicated to the journeys of words and the marvels of language.
Did you know that the word clue tells a story of ancient Greek mythology? Did you have a clue that the word glamour originated from grammar? And were you aware that your salary is literally your salt money?
Etymology is the science of unraveling the origin of words, of reconstructing their journeys in time, space and meaning. These journeys tell stories of hidden connections, of traces of the past, of metamorphosis and of language contact.
We are obsessed with these stories and we love collecting them and putting them in our etymology cookie jar. But the real fun for us is sharing them. So check out our blog and grab your own snack of etymology fun!
Story of the week
nightmare
horses and goblins in the dark
I think 'nightmare' is one of the most enchanting words in the English language. It conjures up images of jet-black female horses, trotting through the night, entering your subconscious with terrifying neighs and ominously waving manes. And while they breathe dark images into your sleep, they trample your heart with their hooves, just before they disappear again, and you wake up...
A selection of our bite-size etymology snacks
sinister
The word sinister is derived from Latin sinister, which meant 'left, on the left side.' It also meant 'unfavorable, harmful' because omens, especially bird flights, seen on the left side were considered predictors of misfortune.
clue
The word clue originally meant 'a ball of thread' and it shifted its meaning to 'something that leads the way' in reference to Ariadne in Greek mythology, who gives her beloved Theseus a ball of thread to help him find his way out of the Labyrinth.
salary
The word salary is derived from Latin salarium and is related to the word sal 'salt', because originally salarium was a soldier's allowance to purchase salt. So etymologically speaking, your salary is 'salt money.'
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